


Ethereal

by FatalViolet520



Series: Beautiful Words (beautiful you) [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Excessive use of petnames, Kissing, Lee Jeno is Whipped, M/M, Making Out, Na Jaemin is Whipped, Polyamory, Sharing a Bed, Soft Huang Ren Jun, a ridiculous amount of affection and skinship, i love boyfriends, jeno gives renjun a hickey, norenmin is the BEST, norenmin is the ultimate ship you can come and Fight Me on this, slightly non linear?, strangely jeno centric?? idk it happened, this is just renjun being beautiful ft jeno and jaemin being soft for him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 20:25:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18858469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FatalViolet520/pseuds/FatalViolet520
Summary: Renjun is - ethereal. There is no other word for it, it seems. He's ethereal when he's singing, eyes closed and lost in the melody, voice taken to the heights he wishes it to go to. He's ethereal when he's dancing, movements fluid and graceful, and if Jeno imagines it he can see the lines and curves ballet and modern dance has shaped for Renjun. He's ethereal when he's smiling, lips pretty and delicate pink, hand smaller than Jaemin's but equally as warm.Renjun is theirs, just as they are his.





	Ethereal

**Author's Note:**

> sue me i love renjun what are you gonna do about it??? also i have sub zero impulse control and im going to keep posting stuff for a while!!! enjoy, as always~~

 

[Ethereal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethereal)  
/ɪˈθɪərɪəl/  
_adjective_

1\. extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not to be of this world  
2\. of or relating to the regions beyond the earth, suggesting the heavens or heaven

 

* * *

 

Renjun is - ethereal. It’s the only word that comes close to describing him, and Jaemin, with his whole life of Korean and his years of English - he doesn’t think he can find a word that could scratch the surface of beginning to describe Renjun. He comes across the word on the internet, when a fan screams about Renjun on Twitter, and the word is Renjun and only Renjun, all over and again. 

 

Renjun is - delicate. It’s another word that suits Renjun, Jeno muses. He thinks of the way they look when they stand next to him, shoulders broader and height taller, the difference in their sizes making his heart clench almost painfully. He thinks of the way he can pick Renjun up so easily, Jaemin grabbing at his legs to steady him, or when they catch him as he jumps back in their choreography, trusting. He thinks he’d continue to keep catching Renjun, whenever, wherever. 

 

“Sit here,” Jaemin whines, patting his own lap as the three of them go over lyrics for the new song in one of the recording studios. “Injun, sit  _ here _ .” He repeats, elongating his words like he can convince Renjun to do that just by whining. 

 

“Absolutely not,” Renjun says, not even looking at Jaemin. “There are two sofas and several chairs, I don’t need to sit on your - your lap.” 

 

Even after all this time, it’s gratifying to see the blush rise high on Renjun’s cheeks and hear the stutter of his words, still shy at the thought of intimacy after months and years of being together, and it cords a warm, fuzzy feeling around Jaemin’s heart. 

 

“Yeah,” Jaemin says, imploring, “But I like it when you sit on my lap.  _ You _ like it when you sit on my lap. Jeno -”

 

“- Just sit on Jaemin’s lap,” Jeno interrupts halfway, both amused and annoyed. “He’s going to keep whining about it for the rest of the session if you don’t.” He ignores both the betrayed look at that Renjun shoots him and the offended pout that Jaemin directs towards him and turns back to his papers, a smile tugging at his mouth, heart warm with affection for the both of them.

 

“I’m not answering to anything if someone asks why I’m sitting in your lap,” Renjun says a little huffily, but there’s a smile drawing at the corners of his lips, and the blush high on his cheeks, evident on his pearly skin, says more than enough about his contentment. He moves over from being in the middle of the both of them to perching on Jaemin’s lap, like he’s afraid of sitting down too hard or worried that he’s too heavy, and Jaemin is  _ not  _ having it. 

 

“Baby,” Jaemin drawls, then wraps an arm around Renjun’s middle and pulls him onto his lap more firmly, settling Renjun so his back against his chest firmly, relishing in the warmth and sudden squeak Renjun releases. “That’s better, isn’t it?” 

 

“Stop it,” Renjun says, and even though Jaemin can’t see his face, he knows Renjun’s pouting, his small hand slapping Jaemin’s arm lightly. 

 

“Baby,” Jeno says quietly then, shifting over to press his body next to the both of them, then he’s leaning in and planting a soft kiss on Renjun’s mouth, hand cupping his face and the other hand coming to lace together with Jaemin’s fingers messily. “ _ Bǎobèi _ ,” Jeno says again, accent lilting like he had asked Kun to teach them all those months ago, and it never fails to make Renjun squirm, shy and happy. 

 

“Kiss,” Jaemin asks as well, straightening his posture, and Jeno just laughs a little and cranes his neck to turn to kiss Jaemin. Jaemin’s mouth is soft and he leans into the kiss happily, making a happy little noise in the back of the throat that makes Renjun twist around in Jaemin’s lap, arms looping around his neck. 

 

“Nana,” Renjun whispers, precious and soft, eyes open and trusting as he looks at them when Jeno breaks the kiss off, and Jaemin is so, so helpless. 

 

“I’m here,” Jaemin murmurs back, arm comforting on Renjun’s waist as Jeno kisses the base of Renjun’s neck. “We’re here,  _ bǎobèi _ .” 

 

“Kiss me,” Renjun just says, and like that, any thought of working - lyrics and notes and vocal training - is lost to the heat of Renjun’s lips, plush and inviting; his hands, warm and gentle; his noises, pleased and happy. 

 

Jeno watches them, basking in the afterglow of a warm and happy Renjun, his mouth kiss-swollen and the faint tracings of a hickey blooming where Jeno had sucked lightly on earlier. He watches Renjun, hair tousled and cheeks squished on Jaemin’s shoulder; he watches Renjun’s hand flit from the nape of Jaemin’s neck to Jeno’s hand that rests on his thigh; he watches Renjun smile and lean over to plant a kiss on Jeno’s jaw, soaked with love and affection. Watches all of this with the same soft eyes Jaemin has, and he thinks he couldn’t be more in love with the both of them. 

 

They do eventually get back to working, not without their manager coming in to check in on them though, and the day proceeds, but Jeno still lingers on to that one moment of their day. If he closes his eyes to just rest, the image of it rises to the forefront of his mind, heart thumping irregularly just because Renjun was as happy as he was. 

 

“What’s got you thinking so loudly?” Jaemin asks teasingly, poking Jeno’s forehead with a pen. They had been left in the dorm by the rest of Dream, the manager taking only Jisung, Chenle and Renjun somewhere for some mysterious schedule. They didn’t leave without some solid sulking from Jaemin though, and it had taken Jeno the better part of an hour to coax Jaemin from his sulky mood into his normal, cheerful disposition. 

 

“You,” Jeno says simply, unusually affectionate because of everything, because why not. “You and Injun.” 

 

Jaemin smiles at that, soft and pretty and his hair falling into his eyes, and Jeno thinks if one could fall in love twice, then he has. “You always do,” He murmurs, hand coming to clasp Jeno’s, finger stroking over the back of knuckles. “It’s the three of us, always, yeah?” 

 

There’s a ball of affection choked up somewhere in Jeno’s throat, and all he can reply is, “Always,” but Jaemin looks satisfied, bringing Jeno’s hand up against his mouth to kiss the skin gently, reverently. 

 

Renjun doesn’t come back until it’s past eleven and the both of them are dozing in bed, scrolling through their phone idly. They’re squeezed together in Jeno’s bed tonight, and Renjun will have to be content squashed between them, and despite his numerous complaints that the both of them stick to him like human octopuses, he never leaves anyway.

 

“You’re back,” Jeno observes, astute as always when Renjun stumbles into the bedroom after his shower, looking worn but not dead on his feet.

 

“Look great too,” Jaemin supplies, cheesy even when he was tired. 

 

“Dude,” Renjun says, appalled, just because he always is.

 

“These dudes here,” Jaemin says, gesturing towards Jeno and himself, “Are your boyfriends. You don’t get to dude us, Injun.” 

 

“Whatever,” Renjun says grumpily, pulling on a hoodie that can’t be his with how it drowns out this figure and shorts. “Move over, I wanna sleep without being crushed to death this time.” 

 

“You could sleep in another bed, you know, if you dislike sleeping in the middle so much,” Jeno points out fairly, but his sentence goes right over Jaemin’s head as the other welcomes Renjun and plants a noisy kiss on his cheek. 

 

“Absolutely  _ not _ ,” Renjun says a beat later, after making himself comfortable, head nestled on Jaemin’s chest and bringing Jeno’s arm to wrap around his waist. “What kind of question is that,” Renjun grumbles a little before his sentence dissolves into some half-coherent Mandarin, fingers lacing with Jeno’s over his stomach. 

 

“Injun,  _ bǎobèi _ , you’re so  _ cute _ ,” Jaemin coos at Renjun’s admission, seemingly more wide awake than he ever was in the past two hours. “You’re - so - adorable,” He repeats, kissing Renjun’s forehead, cheeks, and nose as he goes, like he can’t get enough of Renjun, heart bubbling with so much love. 

 

“Get  _ off _ me,” Renjun whines, pushing at Jaemin with no heat, his cheeks starting to feel too hot again. “Jen! Stop Nana from attacking me.” 

 

“You knew you had it coming when you said that,” Jeno says lazily, but pulls Renjun closer to him all the same. 

 

“I mean - it’s true,” Renjun mutters, at sleep’s mercy and still shy from Jaemin’s sudden flurry of kisses. “I like to sleep in the middle, even if I complain a lot. I - I like it. It feels - feels safe.” 

 

And this -  _ this _ . This makes Jeno dizzy with love, how Renjun trusts the both of them enough to admit this, trusts the both of them with the fragile shape of his heart, trusts the both of them that they will take care of him and in return so will he, a love returned in full and with hidden strings. 

 

Even in the dim light of the room, with one solitary night light and the slivers of moonlight that peak through their blinds, Jeno makes out the shape of Renjun’s head, the soft brown locks and the slope of his neck and his waist, the curve of his hip and the creases of their duvet. If he looks a little longer, he can make out Jaemin’s face, the trajectory of his jaw and the softness of his eyes, the swell of his lips and the ruffle of his hair, all incredibly endearing and it makes Jeno’s heart thump unsteadily, full of affection for the two people he has come to love so much in his life. 

 

“I love the both of you,” Jeno says into the pin-drop silence as his eyes finally succumb to the tired weight of slumber, sliding shut, and as he falls asleep he thinks he hears two equally soft  _ i love you too _ s, and he goes to sleep like that, cocooned in the soothing warmth and velvety tenderness. 

 

* * *

Renjun is ethereal. He always is. When does Jaemin realise this? He’s not sure, but it’s probably somewhere between all the hours they spend together in the stuffy dance studios and recording booths, between the early mornings and late nights that blur into each other, between the cute suspenders and heavy hoverboards, the sleek suits and styled hair. 

 

He doesn’t quite know when he starts observing Renjun. The fluffiness of Renjun’s hair, bobbing up and down when he jumps or spins, locks golden and brown, reflecting the artificial lights of their dance studio; the way Renjun smiles and laughs, shoulders hunching in and leaning over, laughter echoing through his ears and straight into his heart; the way Renjun feels in his arms, smaller and more encompassing at the same time. 

 

Sometime between all the hugs he’s ever had with Renjun, he starts to feel like Renjun is delicate, small, built like wireframes and silk sheets and the overwhelming urge to protect Renjun constricts his chest and pushes past his lips, heart wrenching with the bruises he spots on Renjun’s arms from falling down.  _ Please don’t get hurt _ , Jaemin wants to say, scream,  _ seeing you hurt makes me hurt _ . Instead, he commits himself to smoothing ointment over Renjun’s arms, telling him to be more careful, and when Renjun looks up at him, endearing smile and pretty eyes, Jaemin knows.

 

Knows  _ this _ is it, knows the thump of his heart and the sweat of his palms and the tremble of his lips. Knows he’s fallen in love with Renjun and he’s happy to do so. 

 

Jeno thinks he falls in love with Renjun right after that. He knows, because Jaemin goes to him, all fluttering eyelashes and unsure feelings -  _ Jen, I love you too, you know _ \- and he thinks maybe these are the feelings he’s been harbouring for Renjun all this while. 

 

The jolt of his heart when Renjun walks into a room, the snap of his eyes to wherever Renjun is, the shift of his attention when Renjun is talking, the way he breaks off a conversation just to look at Renjun, the way he finds himself looking for Renjun when he isn’t there. All feelings that he now thinks is  _ love love love _ and it’s right, he does love Renjun. 

 

He realises it most a few weeks later, when Jaemin doesn’t wanna cook for him, and when he does to Renjun, complaining, Renjun whacks him with a pillow and goes to cook him something. 

 

Jeno spends the whole time Renjun is bustling around the kitchen staring at him, watching his delicate hands handle the knife, watches Renjun push his bangs out of his face, watches as Renjun squirms and blinks away tears when he cuts the onions. It’s not a particularly special moment. Renjun isn’t decked up, all greasy skin and oily hair from practice earlier, ratty t-shirt and baggy sweatpants - and yet Jeno thinks this is the most beautiful Renjun has ever looked. 

 

Maybe it’s how Renjun’s glasses slip down from his nose, or it’s how he’s almost drowning in the shirt, or it’s how Renjun plates up the fried rice and asks if he likes it. Maybe it’s how happy Renjun looks when Jeno lets him steal the food, or it’s how Renjun whines and loses at rock-paper-scissors but Jeno washes up anyway, or it’s how Renjun yawns and stretches and reveals the softest tummy Jeno has ever seen. Maybe it’s all of them, at the same time.

 

He falls in love, one way or another, sooner rather than later, and if he could fall in love twice, he already has. 

 

After all that time, all these years of being together, Renjun is still ethereal. He’s ethereal in the way he looks at them, a smile that’s reserved for them only blooming over his face, revealing the tiniest dimple and making roses bloom on the apple of his cheeks. He’s ethereal in the way he blushes when one of them kisses the birthmark on the back of his hand, caught off by the display of affection. He’s ethereal in the way he curls up in their arms, fast asleep to the world and moonlight tracing a painting through his hair and over his features. 

 

Jeno knows that among them, Renjun is the best artist, is good with his hand and his paints and his brushes, but he knows that he doesn’t need to be an artist to paint their future together. The three of them - they are three hearts beating in sync, a thousand wishes and sighs made come true, an eternity of promises weaved together. 

 

Shooting stars may not always grant wishes, but they don’t need it chance when reality is the best version of any dream they could ever want for. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i - its gonna be jaeyong tomorrow (hopefully) with a rewrite of romeo n juliet!! if anyone can guess what the title will be u get a lil kiss from me uwu <3 love you guys!! (for the people that read paint me, i promise an update is coming after the 24th!!)


End file.
